Marcnath One-Shots
by allya373
Summary: A collection of the Marcnath short stories I've written (including Nathmarc November on tumblr)
1. English but Emo

"Too bad Room 33 is closed today," Nathaniel said as they settled down at one of the more secluded tables in the library.

"I don't mind, the library isn't too bad for one day," Marc said. "Besides, I have to work on an English project today, too."

"Oh?"  
Marc nodded.  
"Literature studies, but also pronunciation, I guess. Some kind of classic poetry...I don't know what I'm going to do, though."

"Need help picking?" Nathaniel offered. "I read a bit of English literature here and there, myself."

"Oh, yeah, sure," Marc said. "I didn't realize you'd be the type..."

"I do prefer mostly comic books, but I can't resist the odd dark macabre tale," Nathaniel explained. "The Raven is a classic."

"Sure, let's just keep it basic," Marc shrugged, reaching for it, but Nathaniel held it away.

"Bold of you to call Poe 'basic'," he challenged.

"Sorry?" Marc asked.

"I'm joking," Nathaniel assured him. "But Poe is anything but basic. You sure you can take his stuff?"

"I think I'll be fine," Marc mumbled. "What is this even about?" he asked, examining the cover.

Nathaniel grinned.

"This guy is sitting alone at night, grieving for his lost lover, when he goes paranoid at this raven he sees in his room," he summarized.

Marc blinked.

"What?" he asked.

Nathaniel nodded.

"Not your conventional classic," he reminded, sighing. "It really is a masterpiece."

"Let's get started, then," Marc shrugged, sitting down. Nathaniel sat down opposite, opening his sketchbook.

"Maybe for our next comic, we could do a darker, gothic theme," Nathaniel thought aloud, while Marc opened the library book.

"Mm, maybe," he agreed, finding the first page of _The Raven_ , and starting, softly reading aloud.

" _Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,_  
 _Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore—_  
 _While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,_  
 _As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door._  
 _' 'Tis some visitor,' I muttered, 'tapping at my chamber door—_  
 _Only this and nothing more.'_ "

Marc frowned and held the book closer to his face, scanning the text with slightly confused eyes. Nathaniel half-watched him, half-absorbed in the his sketchbook, as Marc continued to read in soft, semi-broken English.

"... _And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting_

 _On the pallid bust of Pallas just above my chamber door;_

 _And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,_

 _And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;_

 _And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor_

 _Shall be lifted—nevermore!_ " Marc finished, putting the book down and letting out a sigh.

"I love Poe," Nathaniel sighed dreamily, resting his chin in his hands. "What did you think?"

"It's really challenging," Marc admitted. "Isn't this the kind of stuff that native English speaker have trouble with?"

"I guess, yeah," Nathaniel shrugged. "You read it really well, though," he said, smiling at Marc.

Marc flushed.

"I, uh, really?" he asked awkwardly. "Th- thanks..." he mumbled, lowering his head.

"It's your choice if you still want to do it though," Nathaniel assured him. "It just sounds so nice in your voice, though," he said, giving Marc a dreamy stare. Marc's blush deepened.

"No, I think I'll do it," he said quickly. "I- if you think I _can_ , that is..."

"If it's not too emo for you," Nathaniel teased.

"Never," Marc assured him. "I just don't know if I can read this in front of the class without creeping them out."

"Would that be a bad thing?" Nathaniel joked.

"Uh...yeah?" Marc said dubiously.

"I'm joking, you know that, right?" Nathaniel assured him gently. "Trust me, you'll do great. Even if they think you sound creepy, you've got this emo's heartstrings tugging along with every line."

Marc had to hide his blush then, and gave Nathaniel only half a mumbled excuse before he grabbed his things and dashed out of the library.

***  
In the end, Marc's classmates were only awed by his English proficiency - his teacher particularly impressed by his fluency and comprehension of the classic poem, but none of that compared to Nathaniel's reaction when Marc showed him his brand-new idea for a new comic book, complete with a dark English poem that would make the Father of Macabre himself proud.


	2. First Da(tr)e

If Nathaniel was being perfectly honest with himself, he was really starting to regret taking Alix's back when it came to her and Kim's petty challenges. Usually they were actually pretty fun if not questionable, but this time, the guilt was ebbing away at him more than support for his best friend.

"I need you to take Marc out on a date," Alix had said, rather a lot more bluntly than Nathaniel would have liked to hear it. True, he had been growing closer to the writer over the last few weeks after the Reverser incident, but he was still _far_ from considering him as a potential candidate for something _else_.

"Why?" he had asked in response, taken completely off-guard by the unusual request.

Alix had rolled her eyes to that.

"I need you to take Marc Anciel out on a date. I accidentally let Kim know I was aro and now he won't believe I'm capable of _supporting_ people who feel romantic attraction so I'm going to wingwoman you two to prove I can be a great love endorser _without_ feeling it myself. You get me?"

Nathaniel had merely gaped at her in surprise and shock, which she had _somehow_ interpreted as a "yes" and then something happened and something else happened and now he and Marc were hand-in-hand, walking aimlessly around the city trying to find a suitable place for their _date._ Andre the ice cream guy would have been the obvious choice, until they unpleasantly discovered his heteronormative outlook towards the couples who came to get ice cream and tried to set Nathaniel up with _Alix,_ which was most _definitely_ not their intended goal in mind.

"Just go to the freaking zoo!" Alix's voice hissed through the earpiece in the redhead's ear.

Nathaniel glanced at Marc, who seemed too overjoyed to probably care exactly where they went, and sighed.

"Why don't we go to the zoo?" he asked Marc innocently.

Marc smiled at him, flushing, and nodded in subtle eagerness. Nathaniel felt the knot in his stomach tighten.

"The zoo it is, then," he decided softly, pressing on the earpiece to convey the message to Alix.

Marc was practically bouncing as they made their way to the zoo, but Nathaniel was internally repeating to himself as if it would assure him his sins were forgiven. _It'll all work out, Alix'll win her dare and we can leave this all behind us...Sure, it'll probably_ _crush_ _Marc when he finds out but he'll forgive me, won't he? Oh no, he's going to be so crushed when he finds out…_

Nathaniel was so busy internally panicking that he didn't realize they'd already arrived at the zoo and how troubled his expression was until Marc gently tapped him and asked him if he was okay. Nathaniel jerked back to reality and immediately changed his expression to one of ease.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine," he waved off.

Marc didn't look 100% convinced.

"Are...you...sure?" he asked doubtfully.

Nathaniel's conscience took another opportunity to yell in his brain again. He broke his gaze away and looked at the ground awkwardly, glancing at Alix hidden in the bushes.

"I've never, um, been on a successful date before…" he mumbled softly. Marc looked at him, worried. The innocent concern in his eyes, Nathaniel wanted to expose himself right then and there. Instead he shook his head to clear away the intrusive thoughts and looked back at Marc, resolve setting in. "But that doesn't mean this can't be a great date! I'm sure this time will be much better than the last," he smiled reassuringly, and Marc blushed. Nathaniel felt his own cheeks heating up slightly and quickly looked away.

"So, where do you want to go, now?" Marc asked.

Nathaniel shrugged.

"What about the Miraculous section? I heard they just got a peacock recently," Marc suggested, and so they went.

"That was really convincing, wow, Nath, I never knew you had it in you!" Alix told him later when they were back in the Louvre, alone.

"It wasn't an act, Alix," he told her softly, looking out the window with a less-than-subtle grin on his face.

"Wait, so you were actually taking him out on an honest date?!" she asked in surprise.

"Well, not at first…" Nathaniel admitted. "But it was actually really nice and he's really sweet and we had a good time and we're dating now so I think it went well enough," Nathaniel shrugged. "What, why are you looking at me like that?"

Alix didn't answer, instead turning around and waving at the entrance to this exhibit. Nathaniel stared in confusion, until twelve faces jumped out in his line of vision, making him jump out of his own seat.

"CONGRATULATIONS YOU DENSE IDIOT!" Kim's voice rang out above the rest, and they all exploded into cheers.

"What's going on?" Nathaniel asked, blinking dumbly.

"The dare was never for me," Alix confessed. "We were trying to get you and Marc together the entire time."

Nathaniel gaped at her for a good minute. He gaped at all of them for another good minute.

" _You little sneak!"_ he hissed at her, eyes flashing threateningly, but his smile gave him away.

Alix raised her hands in self-defense for half a second before she took off speeding away.

"Oh no, you don't!" Nathaniel hollered at her, jumping up and sprinting after her.

In spite of Nathaniel denying it multiple times later on, Alix claimed all credit for getting what became known as the iconic "Creative Duo" together, while Marinette would tell anyone who didn't bother asking Alix that it was really the baker's daughter who got them together in the first place.

But none of it really made a difference to the Creative Duo themselves, who quickly established their comic book counterparts in a relationship as well. Nathaniel was no longer cursed with bad dates and unrequited crushes, and Marc was finally together with the artist of his dreams.

Basically, they made lots more comic books and all lived happily ever after, which is really all that matters, isn't it?


	3. Colors

To anyone else, it probably seemed like Nathaniel's life was filled with color. His style in appearance was less than subtle, his best friend was known for her lively personality, and it was fairly common knowledge that comic books were a big part of his life, and comic books were nothing short of colorful. If that wasn't enough, if common knowledge wasn't common enough, _everyone_ knew Nath was an artist, so one would obviously associate colors to that. From an external perspective, Nathaniel's life should be vivid enough.

But those same people couldn't really talk. After all, the only person who could be said to really know Nathaniel was Alix, and even they had only been friends for less than three years. His world might look colorful, but it felt colorless. Bland, repetitive, monochrome, flat-out _depressing_. Comic books were almost his escape from the dry gloom that had become his everyday. The colors were bright, the drawings expressive, so much more excitement and _action_ than his own life offered. How much more exciting it must have been to be a superhero fighting menacing baddies every other day, than a plain average Joe who could only dream of such thrills to contrast the ordinary. And then when the comic books started to thin out, rereading them growing dry in itself, he figured he'd keep that same energy alive by drawing his own. Well, sort of. He could draw, certainly, he'd drawn his favorite characters in original situations more times than he could keep track of. He'd even made his own characters and situations based on the comics, but after a while, even those started to fade. He had the characters and the places, he just didn't know how to bring them to life.

It didn't help much when Ladybug and Chat Noir appeared in Paris, either. Comic books became a reality, that was exciting, no doubt, but his inspiration only really manifested itself in more characters and more additions to his concepts, expansions in his universe, but no _ideas._ One time he challenged himself to exceed his own limits and try a comic, finally inspired to the point of a real storyline by the girl who'd gained his respect and admiration...he even dared to recognize it as _affection_ , but the comic felt almost cringy, albeit self-indulgent to a good degree. And then, of course, Chloe picked his sketchbook off the floor, opened her mouth, and now he was back at square one. Restricted by his own limits, hindered by his own lack of inspiration, and interest and excitement in life fading day by day.

Bright hues faded into pastels, muted further to blacks and whites and shades of grey, even those were bound to muddle up into meaningless puddles of gloomy colorlessness if his life didn't spice up sometime soon. Sometimes he would have a burst of inspiration, of color, of _life,_ and he felt like he could do anything in the world. But that was happening less and less often as time went by, and he found himself resigning more to a locked bedroom door, tearing and crumpling page after page of failed attempts, turning the volume of his speakers up as high as they would go so he was enveloped in the emo cacophony that was the only thing that seemed to connect to him so well.

He was going in circles, almost downward, now it seemed, straight into an endless pit of hopelessness and failure. The world was turning grey and he was running out of color. Clouds gathering up top, collecting into a thicker and heavier mass of gloom, threatening to spill just to add to his walk towards obliteration.

Nathaniel didn't even blink as a violent strike of lightning flashed right before the window, followed almost immediately by a deafening clap of thunder than was clear even through the insulated walls. Marc jumped from his spot on the bed behind him, covering his mouth with a frightened "eep!" He took a few moments to regain his composure, then looked up at Nath who'd been watching him since he jumped.

"Th-that was really unexpected," the writer commented awkwardly, re-adjusting himself not to look too shaken.

Nathaniel barely seemed to have registered the strike, or maybe he did but was just immune to it? Marc peered at him curiously as he went back to working on the lineart for something while Marc fleshed out the script for the next issue. He didn't feel like writing for a little bit, now, though, that lightning had sort of shocked him out of his wits and he'd need some time to properly gather himself and continue. Did Nathaniel even register anything anymore? It felt like he'd been wilting since they'd started working together. His art was improving with each issue, of course, but his attitude was growing duller and more monotonous than the cheerful, creative boy who'd introduced him to the art room. Marc almost feared to even consider- was it him? Was Nathaniel fading because of him? Was Marc limiting his creative liberty now that they were collaborating?

So many questions, yet so little confidence to speak up and ask. They ate away at him, clutching him with guilt, but how was he supposed to ask without coming off as suspicious, or worse, traitorous? Nathaniel had rejected him once before, there were no guarantees he wouldn't do it again…

Nathaniel sensed the lack of movement behind him and paused, then turned his chair around. Marc was watching him, a thoughtful, yet faraway look in his eyes.

"Is...everything good?" he asked carefully. Marc continued to peer at him curiously, expression unchanged.

Nathaniel swallowed, suddenly all-too self aware. He could feel Marc's eyes watching him, boring into him, right through him, and his mind spun with a million ways this could go, most of them unpleasant. His thoughts, in spite of all Nathaniel was and believed in with conviction, inclined towards the worst. Nathaniel liked Marc. A lot. To the point he was scared of growing clingy and dependent, even. He really, really liked Marc, and he very deeply hoped that Marc wasn't planning on leaving because Nath wasn't sure what he'd do if Marc did.

"M-Marc...?" Nathaniel asked, coughing to cover the slip-up, throat suddenly feeling very dry.

"Can I ask you something?" Marc asked. Nathaniel just barely stiffened, involuntarily bracing himself.

"Sure..." he replied, not at all sure of himself.

"Why are you never happy?" Marc asked, pausing for a few moments before catching himself, because Nathaniel had never seemed so taken off-guard. "I mean- no! No, that's not what I meant, I'm sorry I phrased that wrong..." he looked up at Nath nervously, who seemed to be regaining his composure, and nodded.

"Yeah?" Nathaniel asked. Marc frowned, thinking.

"What I meant to say was, not that you're never happy, just...you seem kind of...sad. Bored, almost...I don't know how to describe it, just...when I first met you, you seemed so lively and energetic and vibrant, and..."

"Turns out I'm not?" Nathaniel finished, voice cracking slightly. He tried to hide the hurt but it must have shown on his face anyway.

"No!" Marc said again, facepalming both mentally and physically. "Not that you aren't….just...tell me honestly, Nathaniel...do you really like working with me? I don't want to make you feel restricted, just that...your drawings kind of made me see life in a brighter shade but now it seems like it doesn't do that for you..."

Nathaniel all but cried out in relief, a small smile growing on his face.

"It's not like that," he assured Marc, "I think I understand how you meant it, but, uhh...well first of all, it's, uh, definitely not you, because, uh, well, umm..."

Marc was watching him curiously.

"Okay…? But then…?" the writer prompted gently. Nathaniel groaned into his hands, removing them from his face when he saw Marc watching him again.

"Sorry, just that...well. I'll just be totally honest, I guess. My life seems like it's all colors and superheros and excitement, doesn't it?" Nath started. "Well, I guess it kind of is, in some aspects, at least. But for a long time, I guess, the world just started to slowly turn kind of grey for me. Things just weren't exciting anymore. Same old, same old, what's the point of it all after a while, you know? And, uhh..."

"Mm?"

Nathaniel paused, swallowing and taking a deep breath.

"I, well, you know, you, that happened, and we, just, I, uh, I-I don't how to explain it but you came and, you know? We, like, yeah, just...yeah" he said all in a rush, gesturing wildly.

Marc blinked in surprise. Well, one, Nath just went off on a mumble rant, which he never did with Marc, and two, uhh, what the heck did he just say?

Nathaniel groaned and hid his face in his hands. Marc slowly got up and walked over to him, turning his chair around so he was facing his front again. Nathaniel took even longer to pry his hands off his face, looking up to meet his gaze.

"So, what you were saying, is your life lacks color, huh?" Marc said softly, leaning closer in spite of himself.

"Er, yeah, sort of, basically, yeah," Nathaniel said, eyes widening at the closeness of the proximity between the two. "Y-you were actually sort of helping me get out of that, whole, y'know..." he trailed off, voice fading.

"Was I?" Marc asked thoughtfully, coming in even closer, a strange surge of adrenaline setting in.

"Y-yes?" Nathaniel whispered, voice breaking. Marc was so close he could count every eyelash if he wasn't so distracted by those piercing emerald eyes.

"Well then maybe I'm not doing well enough," Marc said, voice only audible because they were this close.

Nathaniel had already leaned back and shrunk in on himself as much as he could, because his body wouldn't give anymore, and gave in, in spite of all he was, as Marc closed the final gap between them at last.

His eyes initially flew open in shock and surprise, then slid closed as he relaxed, sighing softly. His nerves crashed, shut down completely for a good five seconds, then, just s quickly, whirred back to life and went properly crazy. Nathaniel's arms moved of their own accord, snaking around Marc's neck to pull him in even closer, Marc responding by threading his fingers through those scarlet red locks. They sat and stood like that until the need for oxygen overtook the thrill of the moment, pulling apart reluctantly only to stare at each other. Seafoam into jade green, just drinking each other in through sight alone, for what felt like eternity but lasted only about three minutes.

Nathaniel's vision was dancing, and he forced himself to break away just to clear the dizzying sensation fogging his mind. The soft pitter-patter of raindrops on the window stopped, and they both turned to look outside. The clouds were separating, thinner and softer grey, to reveal a stunning display of bright colors in a perfect band outside the window. They both stared at if for a few moments, Nathaniel suddenly having to restrain himself from laughing. Marc looked outside, then at Nath, with a soft smile that soon widened into a grin.

"So," he started, a break from the silence. "Find your color?"

Nathaniel couldn't hold back anymore; he burst out laughing and took Marc down with him too, just rolling on the floor and laughing for no apparent reason, until Nathaniel's mom came in and asked them why it sounded like they were being cruelly tortured in Nath's own bedroom. They shared one last sneaky smile through the window as Marc left for his own house that night, Mrs. Kurtzberg oblivious as ever to her son's secret activities behind closed (but not locked) doors.

Finally, Nathaniel supposed, yes, he had found his colors. An entire rainbow of them, to hang up over all his days from now on.


	4. The (Art) Room

" _I did not have an affair with her!"_

Such was the first thing the current occupants of room 303 heard that day in the art class. Well, the first concerning thing, anyways. Adrien had been quietly discussing Kitty Section's next song, and Alix and Marc were silently busy in their own work.

"I don't care what you say- _just look at it!_ No matter which angle you try to see it from, it's completely ridiculous and out of the question!"

Nathaniel walked in, phone to his ear and gesturing angrily as he attempted to reason with whoever was on the phone.

"The explanation is simple: I. Did. Not. Do it. Period. Now if there are any other preposterous rumors circulating about me, anyone with half a brain will be intelligent enough to come instantly to the correct conclusion that they are false because I DID NOT DO IT." He cut the line. "Oh, hi, Marc."

The redhead was met with five stares of confusion and concern, the room dead silent until Adrien inexplicably broke into uncontrollable laughter.

" _Dare_ _I_ _even ask?"_ Alix questioned herself under her breath, then decided she didn't and calmly went back to work.


	5. Stars

The bus ride was agonizingly long and uncomfortable. Chloe ditched the bus within ten minutes and called up a private ride instead when Mme Mendeleiev told her she couldn't skip out on the field trip, and Marc was starting to wish he had the money for a private ride, because this was starting to really get on his nerves. The bus was noisy and crowded, and even though he and Nath had both chosen seats at the very back where they didn't have to share with someone else, the smooth, paved roads were far behind them, and every bump on the road hit them with maximum force.

And yet Nathaniel still somehow managed to sleep through the whole thing. Marc had never found himself so capable of falling asleep anywhere, and the chances of him successfully achieving even a minute of shut-eye with all this noise were very near impossible. He could only hope that tonight made up for the ride. Marc dared to let his imagination race with the possibilities, reminding himself not to set his hopes too high and expect anything, but dreaming far ahead of himself all the same.

Wishing for the millionth time that he'd thought to bring headphones, he put in the one earbud out of the pair that still worked, covered the other ear and turned the volume all the way to the top. He turned away from the window, the cloudy skies and dark trees on his side becoming unbearable to watch, and shifted his body so he was sitting lengthwise on the bus seat, facing Nathaniel's seat on the other side. Marc leaned back against the window and kicked his legs up so his shoe soles were almost against Nathaniel's, then closed his eyes and relaxed, letting his imagination run free.

He'd almost forgotten about the rowdy mob of people occupying the rest of the bus, almost drifted away to the point he'd forgotten they were going somewhere at all, until his head painfully bounced against the window on one final bump, bus jerking to a stop. Marc winced, rubbing his head and pulling the earbud out, and sitting up so he could see what was going on up there as Mme Mendeleiev stood up to give them directions. He only glanced away to see Nathaniel getting up himself, looking around confusedly until his attention snapped to the front.

"Everyone listen up!" Mme Mendeleiev commanded. "You all know who your partners are, stay with your partner throughout the entire afternoon, you'll have time to break apart and mingle later, but don't dare go exploring unless at least one person is with you! Am I understood?"

Chants of "Yes, Mme Mendeleiev" echoed through the bus and Marc mumbled it himself quietly in accord.

"Good," she said. "You know what to do, I should be able to trust you enough to exercise common sense and complete the tasks you have been assigned to do. You are all aware of what's off-limits so please be smart and we can all have a safe and fun trip!" She smiled encouragingly, much to the caution and terror of the students, and descended as the bus doors opened.

Nathaniel sat up, stretching. "Here already, huh?" he asked, rubbing his eyes. Marc tried to ignore the sleepy flush in Nath's cheeks and the adorable way he spoke when he still wasn't fully in the moment.

"Er, yeah," Marc answered. "You'll be with Alix, then," he said uselessly, wondering why he was trying to make conversation like this. Maybe because he liked hearing Nathaniel talk- no. There was no point of getting himself all worked up when the school trip had barely begun.

Nathaniel nodded, leaning back in his seat. Alix shouted for him from wherever she was at the front, and they both looked up to see. Marinette was waving at Marc to come join her, so he bade one last glance at the redhead before gathering his things and joining his partner.

Although Marc would theoretically ideally have partnered with Nathaniel, and Marinette with Adrien, he had to retrospectively appreciate he'd picked Marinette. Although it meant less time with the person he'd have liked to spend the most time with, there were things that had to be done before the day ended, and Marc was sure they wouldn't have been able to get them done this efficiently and relaxedly if he'd been with Nathaniel instead. Plus, he and Mari didn't often get a chance to interact like this, and he wasn't going to complain about working with his good friend. Though that didn't stop Mari from looking wistfully over at Adrien and Kagami.

"Plans for tonight?" Marc asked, half-teasing. That was another thing he would have never dared to do if Nathaniel had been there. Marinette laughed.

"I wish," she admitted. "What are the chances a guy and girl'll end up with their sleeping bags next to each other out of almost 50 people? What about you? Don't you have certain hopes for this trip?"

Marc chuckled too.

"Well, I mean, you know," he said, flushing slightly. "Probably not gonna happen, but uh, I have some hopeful dreams," he shrugged vaguely. Marinette grinned at him impishly.

"Still more hope than me," she said, studying the trip itinerary. Marc gaped at her for a subtle moment.

"How would you know what I wanted to do?" he challenged, only slightly wary.

"Mm..." was all she gave in response, not at all helping his nerves.

Was he that obvious? Marc shrank in on himself, feeling suddenly anxious. Marinette glanced at him and looked up.

"Relax, I'm just playing with you," she assured him. He looked at her with uncertainty, and she smiled reassuringly.

"Whatever you say..." Marc mumbled under his breath, before his attention was diverted by the list of things that had to be done before tonight.

"Dude! You should have seen his face! It was freaking hilarious!" Alix told the group that had gathered around the campfire. Nathaniel sat next to her, nodding along amusedly while clearly attempting not laugh.

"What happened?" Marc asked, taking a seat next to Nathaniel and trying to act casual.

"Kim- I don't even know what he was doing- he ended up in the lake somehow and good thing Ondine was there with Lila- Ondine had to literally go in and get Kim out," Nathaniel explained, smirking slightly.

"But I thought Kim was a swimmer?" Marc asked in confusion.

"I know!" Alix said. "Apparently Max was using Markov to take a sample of lakewater for some test, I think Kim wanted to know if it was safe to swim in, but then it fell in and Kim tried to save it?" she finished with a laugh.

"Okay, in my defense, Max designed that piece of equipment himself! Who knows how much it was worth?" Kim countered, arriving at the site with a towel around his neck, shirt open.

"Did you figure out if it was safe to swim in or not?" Nathaniel smirked in spite of himself. Marc didn't remember Nath being this energetic or confident before.

Kim glared at him.

"I did, actually. Ondine and I are going to have a race tomorrow after breakfast," he informed them.

"That's great, Kim!" Marinette told him encouragingly, sitting down next to Marc so he was squished slightly against Nathaniel. He flushed.

Adrien arrived after that, Alya quickly convincing him to sit beside Marinette, and Marc was squeezed even closer against Nathaniel. He squirmed slightly, shrinking in on himself, until Nathaniel noticed and moved slightly over on his own side to give him more space. Marc wasn't sure if he was thankful or disappointed at the gesture. At least he still had his comfort in personal space, he supposed.

"Kay, guys," Kim said, once the whole class plus some others had gathered around a recently lit fire. "Let's play truth or dare."

He was met with general discordance, and groaned.

"Come on, you guys are no fun," he complained. "What do you wanna do, then? Play hot potato and sing songs around the fire? What are we, six?"

"That sounds like a great idea!" Alya said brightly, much to Kim's chagrin, and they began a half-hearted chorus of Smelly Wolf and 99 Bottles. They were on bottle 69 when some immature boys started smirking, and the singing ended rather soon after that.

"Why don't we play Never Have I Ever?" Kagami suggested. "It's less wild than Truth or Dare but it's not something boring a ten-year-old would play."

The others seemed to agree with that. Marc feeling a knot suddenly growing in his stomach, but nodded along with the rest. Nathaniel didn't seem to have a problem with it, and Marc didn't want to look like a wimp.

"I'll start," Alix volunteered. "Never have I ever fallen into a lake on a school trip."

Half the group laughed at that, Nathaniel included, and Kim glared, putting down a finger. Markov closed one of his metal digits, too, out of respect for Kim, justifying that it had been his own apparatus that had fallen and caused Kim to go down too.

Next was Nathaniel. "Never have I ever, uhh, been on the very top of the Eiffel Tower, I guess?" he shrugged. Some people nodded, a surprising number having to put down a finger for that. Lila looked annoyed.

Marc swallowed when it was his turn, felling the others' eyes on him expectantly. "I, uh, never have I ever..." he searched his mind for ideas. "Drank a cup of something that wasn't what I thought it was," he decided finally. The others were initially confused, then broke out into groans and laughs and remarks.

"Dang, Marc, way to expose me," Nathaniel whispered, and Marc felt his cheeks grow warmer in embarrassment.

"S-sorry," Marc mumbled. "It just came to mind," he shrugged.

"You probably know how many times I've accidentally drank paint water, huh?" he asked playfully. Marc swallowed- of course the first thing that came to mind would have been linked to Nath somehow. Typical.

"Okay, okay, but guys!" Adrien called out over the rest of them, and they quickly silenced, more or less. "How do you know you haven't ever drank a spiked drink. How would you know, huh?" he asked, and they all broke into energetic chatter about conspiracy theories and whether or not milk was really milk or actually just water and some other foreign substance.

Marc sighed into his hand, wishing he'd picked something else. Now everyone else was discussing something else and he and Nath were both silent.

"What do you think?" Nathaniel poked him gently, and he looked up. "Is juice really juice? I water really water? Are you sure what you were talking about?"

"Who knows," Marinette answered for him, leaning over. "It's all just one big hoax perpetrated by the illuminati," she whispered, and Nathaniel noded seriously.

Marc found himself awkwardly in the middle as they went off discussing some of the wildest conspiracy theories he wouldn't have ever been able to imagine himself. What were those two even high on?

It barely felt like any time had passed at all until Mme Mendeleiev shouted over the group and informed them it was getting late and they should be getting out their sleeping arrangements before it got dark out. Nathaniel set off to locate his own bag, and Marc headed over to the sheltered structures to change into his sleeping wear, quietly praying he found a spot near Nathaniel before the site filled up. He ran back to the field just in time to catch Nathaniel rolling out a sleeping bag, and stopped, staring.

"What?" Nathaniel asked, noticing Marc watching him intently. Marc didn't say anything, just watched him in surprise. "What, my pajamas? I'm a comic book fan, don't you know me yet?" he smiled, slightly unsurely, Marc could tell.

"N-no, I think it's awesome you still wear Marvel pajamas," Marc said quickly before Nathaniel's confidence disappeared and Marc was left forever guilty.

Chloe apparently didn't think the same. She had stalked over with a rather pretty bag of personal items in one hand (Marc would never bring something that expensive on a camping trip), followed by Sabrina who was carrying a large uninflated air mattress and comforter. She took one look at Nathaniel and clicked her tongue disapprovingly.

"What are you, ten?" she asked. "Who the heck wears those to a school trip? You've got some nerve, wearing those in front of the whole grade."

Nathaniel looked down, Marc swallowing nervously, until both sensed Chloe audibly freeze.

"A-Adri-chou..." they heard her say, voice distant, and Marc's gaze snapped up. "What are you wearing?!"

Nathaniel looked up too, and followed Chloe's gaze to Adrien who was set up not too far away, wearing the brightest red and black-polka-dotted onesie any of them had ever seen. Marc stared.

"Something wrong?" Adrien asked unconcernedly.

Chloe gaped at him for a good thirty seconds before gathering herself and sashaying off to a different part of the site. Marc couldn't help himself from giggling. Nathaniel looked at his own pajamas with a small smile, then at Adrien, who offered him a wink and a thumbs up. The redhead grinned.

They entertained themselves by observing the others' interesting pajamas- mostly generic and typical of their age, but some truly iconic. Max's night wear still had glow-in-the-dark decals that grew apparent as the sky darkened. Wayem's pajamas were straight out of one of the Adrien advertisements all over Paris, but he was grateful not to find himself alone- at least four other boys were wearing the exact same ensemble. Juleka's pajamas, although not looking very comfortable, were a level of gothic style that made even Marc envious. He wondered if he could pull off black lace as well as she did.

And then, it was too dark to even make out who was wearing what. The trees cast shadows as twilight neared, and Mme Mendeleiev finally re-appeared to shout at them again for not being calm and peaceful. Marc lowkey suspected she had been waiting for it to grow dark so no one would comment on her pajamas, and deal with the same as M Damocles suffered for his owl-themed pajamas.

Marc sighed happily, laying back on his sleeping bag, as more and more torsos dipped down and out of view, more and more students lying back to fall asleep. The stars were coming out now, and the sight was truly incredible- most of the students just wanting to lie back and enjoy the view. That was what they were here for, after all. Taking a break from the bright glare of the City of Lights, and appreciating the natural view for what it was. Marc thought back to what Mme had told them- this wasn't even close to the truly natural, unadulterated night sky. If this wasn't even comparable, Marc wondered how that must look. He glanced over at Nathaniel, expecting the redhead to have fallen asleep by now, but Nathaniel was wide awake. Marc partially sat up in surprise.

"You're awake?" he whispered to the redhead. Nath blinked and turned his head.

"Yeah," he whispered back. "I'm lowkey nocturnal, I sleep in the morning and the day, and then I'm wide awake at night and don't fall asleep until like 3am," he explained.

"Yike," Marc said, pulling his blanket over his shoulders after a sudden unexpected breeze. "What do you do?"

"I usually draw my comics then," Nath answered, supporting his head on one arm. "Some reason I work better then than during the day."

Marc nodded in understanding, leaning back slightly.

"The stars are beautiful tonight," he murmured, wondering suddenly why that phrase seemed so familiar. Nathaniel quietly smirked, looking at him with a mischievous look in his eyes.

"You know what else is beautiful?" he asked quietly, almost daringly, and Marc's breath caught in his throat. He had to force his mind to go quiet, because this couldn't possibly be heading where he thought- hoped- wished it was heading.

"Wh- What?" Marc asked, not daring to breathe.

Nathaniel hesitated for a moment (which didn't help Marc's nerves at all), smirk slipping slightly. Marc couldn't read his expression very well in the dark, but Nathaniel's eyes seemed to be darting nervously.

"Uhh..." Nath started.

"Y-yeah?" Marc asked carefully.

Nathaniel closed his eyes for a full five seconds, then opened them again, looking Marc dead in the eye. Marc's stomach fluttered nervously.

"You," Nathaniel breathed, and Marc didn't even have to silence his mind because it abruptly crashed and shut down right then.

"M-me?" he repeated softly, sounding stupid even to himself.

Nathaniel barely nodded, as much as he could in this position. Their gazes were locked, Marc couldn't break away even if he tried.

"Really?" Marc asked again, not at all believing him.

"I've liked you for a while, now, I just- uh…." Nathaniel said very softly, trailing off.

"Me too," Marc responded, voice unusually steady. "I like you too." He wasn't sure why he kept repeating things but so long as he wasn't messing up his words this time, he could give in to a bit of stupidity, he supposed.

"So...you like me...and I like you...and we're here, camped out, under the stars, confessing to each other while everyone else is falling asleep," Nathaniel summarized unhelpfully, for lack of anything else to say. Marc nodded mutely.

"Yeah, unless I actually have fallen asleep and I'm dreaming, that's what we're doing," he said, willing himself to stop being repetitive.

Nathaniel didn't say anything for a few moments, then broke into a wide smirk, all but laughing.

"We should make a comic book out of this or something," he said. "Romantic goals, amirite?"

Marc chuckled quietly.

"I can't tell if you're being silly or serious right now," Marc laughed in both humour and relief.

"Both?" Nath shrugged. "Neither? What do you say?"

"I'd say," Marc said, poking Nathaniel gently in the arm, "this is all some crazy dream I'm having and I'll wake up in the morning and none of this will have happened at all."

"Do I feel real?" Nathaniel asked. Marc frowned, thinking.

"It's crazy realistic, but for all I know, you could be one of the best dreams I've ever had," Marc said honestly.

"Then why don't we make it the best?" Nathaniel offered, leaning in and closing the space between them.

Marc pulled away after fifteen seconds, breathless.

"Did that feel real?" Nathaniel asked.

Marc shook his head vigorously, mouth hanging open in surprise. Nathaniel chuckled and sighed, picking up his pillow to swat Marc with it playfully.

"Go to sleep, dork," he said affectionately. "Maybe when you wake up I can try again and prove it to you."

But Marc didn't fall asleep. Marc lay with the widest of smiles on his face, eyes closed, seeing stars.


	6. One Last Night

_Graduation._

They've all been waiting for this day for years, and yet now that it's finally come, none of them really know how to feel about it. A strange mix of relief, regret, apprehension, and nostalgia hangs in the atmosphere, but a party is a party and they're not going to waste their last day together as the graduating class of Collège Françoise Dupont. Tonight is the night for one last stab at making memories, before it's all compressed, packed into a box, and shoved away to make headspace for lycée.

And making the most of it seems to be what everyone is determined to do tonight. Chloe, still on her awkward way to redemption, reserved the most luxurious hall at Le Grand Paris hotel, the effort into decoration and venue for this final night together is obvious. Nino has a mix ready for just this occasion, a playlist to highlight the interesting mixture of emotions that everyone's going through at this point. Adrien and Marinette, the ever-iconic couple, have already initiated the couples dances, and Ivan and Mylene don't take long to join them. Rose and Juleka are slightly more hesitant, then Kim runs to the floor with Ondine in one hand and Max in the other.

All while Nathaniel Kurtzberg and his fabulously aromantic best friend hang around by the snack bar, awkwardly watching the pairs (or, in Kim's case, trio) dance it up on the center floor.

 _This is the last night, this is the last night, just one last night,_ Nathaniel repeats it over and over to himself under his breath, but his legs won't move and his body is too stubborn to ask them to. They've been collaboration partners for goodness knows how long by now, but the exact dynamic of their relationship hangs in mid-air, not quite certain in any direction. He is an amazing friend, that part is certain, but is he more? And if he is, _how much more?_ Nathaniel stares at the other side of the room, where the subject of his suppressed dilemma is currently engaged in conversation with Juleka's older brother.

 _Marc,_ Nathaniel softly says his name out loud. That's who his eyes are on tonight, and as uncertain as he's convinced himself he is right now, the decisive voice in the back of his head is growing louder and he can't keep denying it for much longer. No, he knows exactly what he wants tonight, what he's been subconsciously wanting and hoping and dreaming and _wishing_ for for months, now, but for all he is, he can't find the right words. To be fair, he never could, not even after a childhood of growing up on comic books, he couldn't word them himself. That's what Marc was good at, wasn't it? Too bad the one time he really, desperately needed Marc's help with words was the one time he couldn't.

Alix isn't helping. At all. He glances over at her for support probably the umpteenth time tonight, but she's resolutely ignoring him and instead occupying herself with taking a video of Kim's antics on the dance floor. He already knows what she'd say even if he hadn't driven her up a wall already with his panicked lament. She'd look him straight in the eye, draw herself up to full height, and, with a completely deadpan expression, say, "Just. _Do it._ " And he would go off blabbering about how badly he _wanted to_ but just _couldn't_ and, well, yeah he really can't blame Alix for resorting to giving him the cold shoulder at this point.

So he's alone. He takes a slow sip of his shocking purple punch and cautiously chances another glance at Marc. Nathaniel sighs. _Last night, last chance, final call…_

Marc casually glances away from Luka for 0.1 seconds and immediately snaps his gaze back to the guitarist. He couldn't be imagining it at this point, Nathaniel has definitely been watching him for the last how long had it even been now? He nods along to whatever Luka was saying, smiling with interest, but not really processing any of it. How could he, when his mind has been monopolized by someone else for at least the _entirety_ of today. It's his last chance to confess, last time he'll probably ever have to tell Nath how he's really felt towards him for the past year or so- it makes him scrunch up and hide his head in his hands just from the thought of it.

Well, to be fair, that isn't _entirely_ true, either. It's not like they're going to be attending different lycées or anything, but they aren't taking the same courses and the chance they'll actually be in the same class for any of them is pretty low. What Marc's really most afraid of, even though he's never going to ever admit to anyone in a million, bajillion years (and yes that is totally a word), is that Nath is inevitably going to end up in a much bigger fish pond than this small collège. And bigger means more people. And if someone new meets him and discovers how amazing Nathaniel really is and then start to feel towards him like Marc does- it makes his stomach twist that this thought has even occurred to him at all, and even moreso that Nathaniel really isn't his and he has no right to feel possessive of him like this. Being able to even just be his collaboration partner, be producing the scripts to the comics whose concept art he's only ever admired from afar, having his literal name on the literal front page of the comic books for all to see, he feels guilty for wanting more in spite of it all. Isn't that human nature, to only ever crave more and yearn and hunger, never to be truly fulfilled? It's not a nice feeling, but he's _wanted_ Nath for so, _so_ _long,_ and if he has a chance and loses it he doesn't know what he'd do with himself.

And of course, the cherry on top of his anxiety, _does Nath even feel the same way?_

Marc doesn't even notice himself absentmindedly picking at his nail polish, redone by Luka himself just for tonight, until Luka waves his hand in front of Marc's face and asks him if he's okay.

"You seem kind of out of it," Luka says, and Marc whips his stare away from the either oblivious or now-self-conscious redhead on the opposite end of the room.

"I'm fine," Marc assures him quickly, cheeks warming.

"Hey Luka, mind if I steal Marc for a second?" Marinette's innocent voice comes out of nowhere and Marinette herself suddenly materializes next to Marc.

"Go right ahead," Luka tells her, winking, and she giggles softly before dragging Marc away. Marc's mind only strays from _Nathaniel_ to briefly wonder what's up between Marinette and Luka, but he doesn't dwell on it for long at all, not when there are far more pressing matters to be addressed. Thankfully his mind zips back to the moment just in time to catch Marinette before she goes too far.

"Stop it right there," he stops her, and she complies. "I know exactly what you're doing and I'm not going to let you go any further."

She looks at him in half-hearted exasperation and frustration.

"If I don't help you get from Point A to Point B, who is?" she points out.

"I can do it myself," he says hastily, and she raises an eyebrow that most obviously says _"oh, really?"_

"I can!" he repeats defensively, and Marinette laughs.

"I'm just teasing, you know that, of course. But really, are you sure you can?" she challenges, and he swallows. "See, told you! Trust me, I can help you, and I know just what to do," she winks.

If anything, that makes him _less_ at ease.

"No," he refuses flatly. "I can do it myself and I'll prove it," he decides, reasoning that anything is better than another one of Marinette's failed ploys.

Marinette, bless her heart, may be well-intending, but she was not very good at wingwomaning.

Which was how he ended up here, staring at the floor, heart sinking like he was walking to his own execution, breathing shallow, his mind ceasing to function but his mouth managing to move just enough to whisper words of encouragement to his pitiful self.

"Just put one...foot...in front...of another..." he mutters softly. It works. Too well, apparently, because he ends up in front of Nathaniel a lot sooner than he'd have ideally liked to.

Nathaniel looks up in surprise.

"Oh, hi, M-" But he doesn't get to finish because Marc knows that if he doesn't do this now, he never will again.

"Will you dance with me," he says, voice just above a breath.

"S-sorry?" Nathaniel asks, eyes widening. Marc sets his resolve even more solid and takes a deep breath.

"Will you dance with me?" he repeats, fully aware that the mix is transitioning to the last couples song on the track. _It's now or never._

"Y-yes?" Nathaniel manages to stutter out, and Marc feels himself deflate and soar up with relief at the same time.

They're both a little shaky walking up to the dance floor. Even more awkward trying to figure out how to go about this. Nath ultimately takes the lead, placing one of Marc's hands on his own, Marc placing the other on the redhead's shoulder himself. The first steps are uncomfortable as _heck_ , but they make do, avoiding looking at each other at all cost. At some point, Nathaniel feels a sudden surge of adrenaline and breaks their hold on either to tilt Marc's chin up, looking him right in the eye.

Their steps become smoother, almost fluid, as their bodies move without thinking, without sensing, practically floating on a fluffy cotton cloud of bliss. They're lost in each other's gaze for heavens knows how long, and when the song finally slows to a finale, it feels like it's been forever in a blink. They jerk back to reality, staggering off the dance floor, nothing short of _euphoria_ in the air. Alix is applauding, and Marinette, and Adrien and Rose and Juleka too. The others don't seem to have noticed anything, but the world has flipped almost upside down for Marc and Nathaniel.

"So, I guess it's a little late to ask this, but, uh...you want to be my boyfriend?" Nathaniel asks shyly, cheeks flushed with happiness.

Marc doesn't even bother giving him a reply, instead tackling him in an embrace, kissing him on the cheek for the sake of holding back. Someday there'll be a day for a real first kiss, but today isn't it, and Marc doesn't care at this point.

They're boyfriends. They're happy. And collège is finally over. The only reasonable thing to do tonight is celebrate the heck out of this evening. The first few lyrics of Panic! at the Disco's Victorious float over from Nino's DJ Booth, and party the night away they do indeed.


End file.
